Washington (CNN) – When it comes to political contributions, Donald Trump has no problem spreading the wealth around.

While the real estate titan and television star professes to be serious about seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, his long history of steering money to Democratic candidates has largely escaped notice amid the headline-grabbing din of birth certificate talk and his surprisingly high poll numbers.

Washington (CNN) – One of Mike Huckabee's political confidantes in the early primary state of South Carolina spoke with the former Arkansas governor Thursday and received assurances that he is still "seriously" weighing a presidential bid.

Mike Campbell, who chaired Huckabee's South Carolina campaign in 2008, told CNN that he called his former boss after a South Carolina blog erroneously claimed that Huckabee had decided against running again in 2012.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – A day after Senate Democrats announced they would force a vote on an House-passed Republican budget for next year that makes dramatic changes to Medicare - in order to test if Senate Republicans really support it - Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said he would force a vote on President Obama's competing budget proposal to see if Democrats actually back the president's plan.

Republicans Thursday said they think an embarrassingly high number of Democrats won't.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – In his first written re-election fundraising appeal, President Obama Thursday asked supporters to pony up.

Emphasizing some of the administration's victories – from helping to push the economic recovery to Wall Street reform to the health care overhaul – he said in an email that "You also know we have not yet done everything we set out to do – not nearly. But that's a reason to work harder, not to let up. That's why we're building this campaign now. And you have to take ownership of it."FULL POST

(CNN)- More than half the nation believes the economy is in a recession or depression according to a new Gallup survey, despite White House assurances that the economy is growing.

The Thursday poll reveals that 26 percent of Americans say the economy is in a recession and 29 percent say it is in a depression on the same day that Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, released a statement saying the economy posted the "seventh straight quarter of positive growth."FULL POST

One day after President Obama released his long-form birth certificate - to end what he called a distraction of "side shows" and "carnival barkers" - some still question his eligibility to serve in the White House.

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama on Thursday shuffled familiar faces in his national security team to deal with the pending retirement of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, reflecting a desire for continuity and the changing nature of modern warfare.

Obama named Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta as his nominee to succeed Gates, with Gen. David Petraeus chosen to succeed Panetta at the CIA.

Washington (CNN) – Senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett referred to calls for the president to release his academic records as "nonsense" Thursday.

The suggested disclosure came Wednesday from real estate mogul Donald Trump after the so-called "birther" debate caused the president to release the long-form version of his birth certificate.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – While the nation's political dialogue was hijacked over the issue of President Obama's birthplace, bubbling below the surface is the fact that a child of illegal immigrants born in the United States - derided by some as "anchor babies" - could one day be president.

Under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."